I’ve been waiting nearly five years to drive this car, and now I want one

Back in January 2021, I was sitting in my childhood bedroom having graduated from University into the COVID pandemic. I was working early mornings in a supermarket, everyone was stuck inside for the third lockdown, and jobs in motoring journalism were thin on the ground.

Desperate to kick start my career writing about cars, I started a blog to work on in my spare time. Having carefully built the website to a somewhat presentable standard, I sat down to write my first ever news story.

And it was while I was browsing various press websites that something caught my eye – the new Renault 5 prototype. I thought it looked wicked with its modern-retro styling and bright yellow paintwork, and the thought of rebooting such an iconic model as a funky EV interested me. I wrote the story, hit publish, and that was the first ever article I posted online.

Fast forward to 2025, and I’m lucky enough to have secured my dream job. So when the opportunity arose to finally drive the car which started it all, I jumped at the chance.

The new Renault 5 looks almost exactly the same as the concept I wrote about all those years ago – and the interior looks great as well. This is a cheap car, with prices starting from just £23,000, but the clever use of materials inside make it feel more upmarket than the price tag suggests.

You get a funky-looking denim material on the dash, and the seats also look like your favourite pair of jeans. The overall design is just more interesting than a Citroen e-C3 or a BYD Dolphin.

But I already knew that the Renault 5 looked good; I was more nervous to find out what it was like to drive. Would it be a case of never meet your heroes?

Thankfully, it wasn’t. The Renault 5 is a sweet thing to drive. It has a relatively small 52kWh battery, which makes it lighter than other small EVs such as the Volvo EX30 and thus it’s more fun through the corners. The steering is excellent, with a nice weight and plenty of feedback, and the brakes also feel natural and progressive – something you can’t say of the Peugeot E-208.

I had a great time driving the Renault 5, and when I got back I was pleased to see that it had returned 4.2 miles per kWh. That equates to a real-world range of around 218 miles, which isn’t far off the claimed 252 miles Renault says it’ll do. Not bad considering that was a spirited drive on twisty roads.

Not everything about the Renault 5 is perfect though, and one of the niggles I had was the gear selector. I’m usually a fan on a column-mounted lever, but the Renault has a stalk for the gears, another for the wipers and a third to control the audio. I found myself wiping the windscreen when I actually wanted to reverse, and having no park button was also a bit baffling. You just put the car in neutral and engage the handbrake.

There’s not much rear legroom either, but then again this is a small car. A Vauxhall Corsa Electric isn’t exactly cavernous in the rear.

I’ve never been particularly excited by electric cars. I can see the appeal, with low running costs, a silent and relaxed driving experience and the potential for ballistic performance, but I’ve never driven one which I’ve left thinking “wow, I want one of those”.

That was until I drove the Renault 5. It’s a retro reboot done right – taking the spirit of the original and bringing it into the modern age. If I’m ever in a position where I’m buying an electric car, it will be one of these.

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*Savings are made up of the maximum dealer discount off RRP – subject to dealership, location and trim. Prices correct at the time of writing.